Oscillating sorting device for grape berries

ABSTRACT

A oscillating sorting conveyor is adapted for separating whole berries of wine grapes from undesirable components such as “shot berries” (immature grapes), stems, raisins, leaf material, bugs, pebbles and the like. The sorter deploys a downward tilting trough that is driven to oscillate. A screen is disposed at the bottom of the trough such that whole berries are conveyed over the screen while the undesirable components pass through the screen. The preferred embodiment of the screen has a non-uniform cross-section to improve the efficiency of removal the undesirable components without clogging or requiring constant maintenance. The preferred embodiment of the oscillating conveyor is driven by a cam and cam follower, in which the cam driving shaft is counterweighted to minimize vibration. The more preferred embodiments minimize damage to the grape berries while efficiently removing the undesirable components.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the processing of wine grapes, and morespecifically to an apparatus, process and related equipment forseparating wine grape berries prior to conversion into must and juicefor wine making

The manufacture of the highest quality wines requires the use of nearlyperfect wines grapes, which are of perfect ripeness and free formforeign and extraneous matter that would lead to off flavors and/orhinder or degrade the fermentation process.

Wine grapes, being a natural agriculture product that is harvested inlarge commercial quantities for commercial wine making, inevitablycontains some quantity of foreign or otherwise undesirable matter, be itfrom field contamination, so-called MOG (an acronym for “material otherthan grapes”) or natural variation in fruit ripeness and quality ascaused by weather, pestilence, genetic variation and the like. MOG mayinclude stems or portions thereof (such as sheared stem materialproduced by the action of the destemming machine), leaf material, bugs,pebbles and the like.

Current industrial practice at premium commercial wineries is to employcrews that visual inspect grapes, either before or after de-stemming, inorder to manually cull and remove the undesirable matter. However, handsorting is limited in efficiency, completeness and in particular, is notpractical to remove some undesirable components. Indeed it is difficultto remove by hand sorting “shot berries” (immature grapes) as well asoverripe grapes or raisins, both of which although technically grapematter, adversely effect wine taste, flavor and aroma.

Accordingly, there is a need for automated equipment and processes toremove undesirable matter from wine grape berries after de-stemming.

It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide suchequipment and a process that has the general attributes of removing MOGfrom de-stemmed grape berries.

It is another objective of the invention to provide such equipment and aprocess that removes “shot berries” as well as raisins without damagingor crushing whole ripe grapes.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide the aboveautomated process that is highly efficient at removing undesirablecomponents, yet does so at a high throughput of grape berries.

Still yet another object of the invention is to provide such a processand equipment which is relatively easy to maintain, with minimum andinfrequent downtime for cleaning or refreshing by removing the separatedundesirable materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, the above and other objects of the inventionare achieved by providing an oscillating flow platform that receives thede-stemmed grapes at one end directly from a grape de-stemming machine,and then separates out the undesirable mater through a screen as thegrapes are conveyed via a trough to holding tank, press or crusher.

The oscillating flow platform includes a support stand on which a troughhaving a screen at its bottom surface is oscillated back and forth by amotor driven cam mechanism. The screen in the preferred embodiments hasa mesh pattern that facilitates remove of the undesirable MOG othermatter without damaging whole grape berries.

Use of the above apparatus, with a preferred screen results in theremoval of MOG, “shot berries” (immature grapes), raisins, stems, leafmaterial, bugs, pebbles and the like from de-stemmed grape berries,while largely maintaining the integrity of the ripe grape berries.Further, the device and method provide a high efficiency of removal at ahigh throughput of grape berries, yet with a minimal of maintenancedowntime for cleaning or refreshing the screen.

The above and other objects, effects, features, and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the followingdescription of the embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the oscillating flow platform;

FIG. 2A is rear elevation of the oscillating flow platform;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional elevation of the oscillating flow platformat section line II-II′ in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a detailed view of a portion of the rear elevation in FIG. 2to illustrate the powered drive mechanism of the oscillating flowplatform;

FIG. 3B is a side elevation of a portion of the power drive mechanism ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the oscillating flow platform in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A is a plan view of the screen portion of the oscillating flowplatform in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5B is a detailed view of a portion of the plan view of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is a first cross sectional elevation of section VI-VI′ of thescreen in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 7 is a second cross sectional elevation of section VII-VII′ of thescreen in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional elevation of section VIII-VIII′ of thescreen in FIG. 5B; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the screen portionof the oscillating flow platform in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 9, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike components in the various views, there is illustrated therein a newand improved oscillating flow platform, generally denominated 100herein.

In accordance with the present invention, FIG. 1 is an exterior sideelevation of oscillating flow platform 100. The platform comprises asupport frame or stand 110 to which trough 160 is mounted by four pivotslegs 101. The trough is tilted downward from grape receiving end 160 atoward an open mouth 166. The trough has an aperture 163 that spans themidsection of the bottom surface for receiving a screen 500. Thus, in awinemaking operation oscillating flow platform 100 receives grapeberries at end 160 a after de-stemming. As trough 160 oscillates in theplane of FIG. 1, about the four pivot legs 101, the de-stemmed grapeberries and MOG arriving from the de-stemmer are agitated as they flowdownward with gravity toward open mouth 166. Open mouth 166 ispreferably tapered inward, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the stilloscillating berries are directed into the next conveyor, storage orprocess vessel in the winemaking process.

The agitation induced by the oscillating trough 160 results in multipleopportunities for the MOG, raisons and shot berries to contact and passthrough screen 500. In contrast, the larger whole berries, being biggerthan the slots in the screen 500, pass over it and exit the trough 160at open mouth 166. As will be further described with respect to FIG.5-8, the screen 500 is configured such that whole berries pass over thescreen while the majority of the undesirable mater falls through thescreen. As a preferred embodiment, the trough has a solid area 161 forreceiving de-stemmed grapes before entry to screen area. Initiallydispensing grape berries on the solid area 161 has been discovered toresult in a lower yield of juice being produced by the rupture ofberries during the separation process. While the percentages of berriesthat rupture during the separation process is small, it can besignificant for winemakers that plan to use a carbonic macerationprocess during the initial stages of fermentation, wherein fermentationinitially occurs within the whole, un-ruptured berries. Further,avoiding the rupture of berries also minimizes the possibility that aportion of the grape juice will become oxidized before the start offermentation.

The matter passing through screen 500 is directed by funnel trough 106,placed there under, into a removable open box-like catch basin 108.Catch basin 108 has a secondary screen 560 its bottom surface. Secondaryscreen 560 has a finer mesh pattern than screen 500 so that solid MOG isnow retained, but grape juice generated from broken berries passesthrough, to be collected in the underlying secondary trough 167.Secondary trough 167 has a solid bottom surface that tapers toward adrain hole 168 and connected drain pipe 169. Thus, any juice produced byrupturing the grape berries, either during the de-stemming process orseparation of MOG in oscillating flow platform 100, is readily removedand collected via a hose line or bucket placed under drain 168. Catchbasin 108 rests on secondary trough 167 so that it is readily removedtherefrom to periodically disposed of the solid materials separated fromthe grape berries by screen 500. It should be appreciated that catchbasin 108 need not be limited to a discrete fixed member as illustrated,but in other embodiments may take the form of a screen conveyer belt sothat that MOG, raisons and shot berries are continuously removed fromthe apparatus, before they have a chance to accumulate as they would inthe discrete catch basin 108 illustrated herein.

Trough 160 is oscillated about the four pivot legs 101 via motor 120 anddrive assembly 125. The upper ends of the pivot legs 101 are connectedto trough 160 via upper bearings 164, whereas the lower ends of thepivot legs 101 are connected to trough 160 via lower bearings 102. Theupper 164 and lower 102 bearing structures are preferably bushings, butare alternatively a roller bearing, a ball bearing and the like.

The motor 120 and drive assembly 125 are mounted to support frame 110just below the upper end 160 a of the trough 160. The oscillationfrequency of trough 160 is readily varied to suit the characteristics ofthe grape variety being treated by modulating the speed of motor 120 viafrequency drive controller 125. Frequency drive controller 125 allowsthe user to control the speed of electric motor 120 by modulating theapplied current.

As shown in further detail in FIGS. 3A and 3B, drive assembly 125 alsocomprises a drive shaft 140 supported for free rotary motion within apair of block bearing 142, which are mounted to frame 110. A drive belt130 is mounted at one end to surround the belt sheeve 132 attached tothe motor drive shaft 121.The opposite end of drive belt 130 is wrappedto surround drive shaft belt sheeve 134. Thus, the rotation of motor 120rotates drive shaft 140 via drive belt 130. Laterally disposed about thecenter of drive shaft 140 is a cam 150. The cam 150 has a cam follower155 attached, which extends perpendicular to drive shaft 140. The camfollower 155 is coupled to the cam 150 to oscillate back and forth alongits principle axis as the cam surface is displaced in the same directionwith every rotation of drive shaft 140. The other end of the camfollower 155 is attached via the rotary coupling of central bearingblock 162 (shown in FIG. 1) to the bottom of trough 160, just forward ofscreen aperture 163. Thus, as the cam 150 rotates eccentrically withrespect to drive shaft 140, the cam follower 155 is driven to oscillatein the plane of FIG. 1 and likewise drives trough 160 to oscillate inthe same plane via pivoting legs 101.

Still referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, further details of the preferredembodiment of the drive system 125 will now be described. Drive shaft140 has at each end, outward of cam 150 and block bearings 142, a pairof drive shaft counterweight assemblies 145. An external side elevationof the drive shaft counter weight assembly 145 is shown in FIG. 3B.

It should be appreciated that support stand 110 is attached to or restson the ground via stand feet 105. The stand support feet terminate inrubber damping pads 104 which contact the supporting floor or groundsurface 10 to minimize vibration transmitted from the oscillatory motionof the trough 160. However, it has been discovered that thecounterweight assembly 145 vastly minimizes such vibration. In the mostpreferred embodiment, the counter weight is configured to provide anon-uniform radial distribution of weight with respect to the axis ofdrive shaft 140. The weight is distributed such that the center ofgravity of each counterweight assembly 145 is directly on the oppositeside of drive shaft 140 from cam 150 and cam follower 155.

In FIG. 3B the drive shaft counterweight assembly 145 is shown ascomposted of two disks segments (145 a and 145 b) and two annularsegments (145 c and 145 d) secured together by common bolts 146 boltedtogether. However, each counterweight assembly can also be constructedas a monolithic component. Each counterweight assembly 145 is preferablysecured to the end of drive shaft 140 as shown by end bolt 147. Thenon-uniform radial distribution of counter weight 145 is provided inthis embodiment by the stacking two wedge shaped segments 145 d and 145e. The two wedge shaped segments 145 d and 145 e affixed to the otherportions of counterweight assembly on the end of drive shaft 140 suchthat center of gravity of the counterweight assembly 145 with respect todrive shaft 140 is opposed to the center of gravity of cam 150. Thepreferred masses of counterweights 145 a-e are 6, 3, 3 and 1.5 poundrespectively, for a total mass of 13.5 pounds on each side of driveshaft 140.

Reducing vibration of oscillating flow platform 100 not only reducesnoise to nearby workers, but also greatly reduces the tendency for theunit to move during use, and is expected to generally extend the usefulproduct life. Without wishing to rely on theory, it is believed that asvibration is reduced with counterweight assembly 145 there is also amore efficient coupling of the rotary motion of motor 120, into theoscillatory motion of trough 160, increasing the potential throughput ofwhole berries in trough 160 while maintaining the high separation yieldof undesirable material through screen 500.

The optimum construction and function of screen 500 is more fullydescribed below with respect to FIG. 5-9. However, it should beappreciated that one method of mounting screen 500 in aperture 163 iswith the long axis of the slots 502 parallel with the principle axis ofthe trough 160; oriented to incline downward with the trough 160. Analternative method of mounting a different screen, shown in FIG. 9,results in the long axis of the slots 502′ oriented perpendicular to theprinciple axis of the trough 160. Referring now to the first embodimentshown in FIG.5, screen 500 has a rectangular frame 530. Inset andconnected to each interior corner of frame 530 are four solidrectangular mounting corners 540. Each mounting corner 540 has a stud541 for receiving a wing nut assembly (not shown) for secure attachmentto the trough 160 to fill aperture 163. The remainder of the screen 500within frame 530 is formed from an interconnected array of triangularshafts and wires. The spacing between the shafts is less than thatbetween the wires to define the array of rectangular slots 502. Thus,connected to opposing sides of the frame 530 is a parallel array oftriangular shafts 510, each shaft being oriented so that sides of equalwidth define a common plane 505 at the entrance side of screen 500, asshown in section VI-VI′, in FIG. 6. The wires within parallel array 520are connected at the ends to other pair of opposing sides of frame 530.Each wire in the parallel 520 is connected to each of the triangularshafts in array 510 that it traverses so as to stabilize the entireparallel ray of shafts. As shown in FIG. 7, corresponding to sectionline VII-VII′ in FIG. 5, it can be seen that each wire connects to thetraversing triangular shaft at the apex thereof, opposite the side thatdefines a portion of plane 505.

In the embodiment of screen 500 in FIG. 5-9, it is preferable that theedge to edge spacing of the triangular shafts at the upper surface, W,within screen 500 is about 0.25 inches, with the orthogonal wiresseparated by a distance, L, of about 1.75 inches. The sides of eachtriangular shaft preferably has a width of about 0.25 inches wide. Thewire preferably have a diameter of about 0.25 inches. Thus, in thispreferred embodiment screen 500 consists of slots 502 having an aspectratio of L/W. L/W is preferably greater than about 3, and morepreferably greater than about 4, and most preferably at least about 6.

In the preferred embodiment of the oscillating flow platform 100 screen500 is mounted with the leading edge (that is the side closer to grapereceiving end 160 a) depressed or at least level with the bottom of thetrough and the trailing edge (the side closer to open mouth 166) aboveor at least level with the interior bottom of the trough 160.

The screen construction shown in FIG. 5-9 has several surprisingadvantages for separating grapes. From the interior of the trough 160,plane 505, the screen appears to the arriving grape matter as a seriesof slots. The slot spacing W is narrow enough to return ripe wholeberries, yet let smaller raisons, shot berries and most forms of MOGpass through. It should be noted that as the wires 520 are connected tothe triangular shafts 510 near the lower and downward faxing apex, thisadjacent area is wider, having a width, w, as shown in FIG. 7.

Not wishing to be bound by theory, it is currently believed that onereason for the higher throughput of screen 500 is that once MOGparticles passes through aperture 501, they are unlikely to re-enter inthe opposite direction. Further, the size and spacing of the triangularrods and wires is such that high aspect ratio MOG, (such as stems, twigsand insects and the like) will not collect on these members, but ratherfall downward toward secondary screen 560 for catching separated MOG.Likewise, it is believed that the inverted shape of the triangularshafts 510, with the narrow opening W at the upper or entry surface atplane 505 makes it unlikely that matter vibrating free or hitting wires520 will reverse direction and pass back up above plane 505 into trough160. Although the wires 520 are a locus for the potential buildup ofmatter that passes through the gap W (between triangular shafts in plane505), the tendency toward build-up is reduced as the inverted triangularshape of the shafts 510 provides a wider gap, w, and hence more spacefor such matter to tumble free of the wires 520 due to the oscillationinduced vibration of the matter as it enters and then traverses screen500.

It should be appreciated that for some varieties of grapes it has beendiscovered that the orientation of the rectangular slots 502′ in screen500, as shown in FIG. 9, may be preferable for removing MOG and otherundesirable components. Screen 500 has a rectangular frame 530. Insetand connected to each interior corner of frame 530 are four solidrectangular mounting corners 540. The remainder of the screen 500 withinframe 530 is formed from an interconnected array of triangular shaftsand wires that as in the embodiment of FIG. 5, to define the slots 502′.However, the array of triangular shafts and wires are now reversed inorientation with respect to the long and short sides of screen 500. Thatis the parallel array of shafts 510 is now oriented parallel to theshort axis of screen 500 and the parallel array of wires is oriented inthe transverse direction or parallel to the long axis of screen 500. Thespacing between the shafts is less than that between the wires to orientthe rectangular slots 502′ with their longer axis parallel to theshorter side of screen 500.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention tothe particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended tocover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. An oscillating flow separator comprising: a) a support stand, b) asubstantially rectangular trough open at the top and enclosed by threesubstantially upright sides, said trough being open on one of theshorter sides of the rectangle for dispensing purified solid matter, c)a screen disposed on the bottom of said trough, d) four parallel legsconnecting said trough to said support stand by rotating pivotal membersto allow said trough to oscillate with respect to said support standwherein the open end of said trough is disposed below the opposite sidesuch that matter to be purified flows over said screen, e) a motorhaving an axial shaft mounted on said support stand, f) a drive belthaving a first and second end, the first end wrapped in axialcommunication with the axial shaft of said motor, g) a drive shaftmounted on said support stand, wherein the second end of said drive beltis wrapped in axial communication around said drive shaft to rotate saiddrive shaft via said motor, h) a cam wheel surrounding said drive shaftwherein the center of gravity thereof is disposed off-axis with respectthereto, i) a cam follower engaging said cam at a first end and engagingsaid rectangular trough at a second end via a rotating member whereinsaid cam follower causes the oscillation of said trough in response tothe rotation of said motor, j) wherein said drive shaft furthercomprises counterweights disposed there around and displaced off-axis inthe substantially the opposite direction as the center of gravity ofsaid cam, whereby the vibration of said support stand is reduced by saidcounterweights.
 2. An oscillating flow separator according to claim 1further comprising a catch basin disposed below the screen of saidsubstantially rectangular trough.
 3. An oscillating flow separatoraccording to claim 2 and further comprising a funnel trough disposedbelow the screen of said substantially rectangular trough for directingmatter separated by the screen into said catch basin.
 4. An oscillatingflow separator according to claim 2 wherein said catch basis comprises asecondary screen disposed at the bottom thereof.
 5. An oscillating flowseparator according to claim 4 further comprising a secondary troughdisposed below said catch basis for collected liquid separated by saidsecondary screen.
 6. An oscillating flow separator according to claim 4wherein said secondary trough has a substantially solid bottom surfacethat tapers toward a drain hole.
 7. An oscillating flow separatorcomprising: a) a substantially rectangular oscillating trough thatcomprises: i) a bottom, ii) three substantially upright surroundingsides, iii) an aperture in said bottom, iv) a screen covering saidaperture v) wherein one of the shorter sides of said rectangular troughis open and pointed downward to dispense matter purified by theseparator.
 8. An oscillating flow separator according to claim 7 whereinthe oscillating trough is tilted such that the open side is lower thanthe opposite and surrounding side.
 9. An oscillating flow separatoraccording to claim 8 wherein the top side of the screen disposedparallel and distal to the open end of the trough is disposed slightlyabove the bottom of the trough.
 10. An oscillating flow separatoraccording to claim 8 wherein the top side of the screen disposedparallel and proximal to the open end of the trough is disposed slightlybelow the bottom of the trough.
 11. An oscillating flow separatoraccording to claim 7 wherein said screen comprises a) a first parallelarray of triangular shafts, each shaft oriented so that the sides definean upper plane, b) a second parallel array of wires cross-connecting andstabilizing said array of triangular shafts, c) wherein said secondparallel array of wires is connected to each of the triangular shafts ofsaid first parallel array near the apex thereof, opposite the side thatdefines a portion of the upper plane
 12. An oscillating flow separatoraccording to claim 7 further comprising means to oscillate in saidtrough along the principle axis thereof.
 13. A screen for separating MOGfrom grape berries in a oscillating shaker, the screen comprising: a) afirst parallel array of triangular shafts, each shaft oriented so thatthe sides define an upper plane, b) a second parallel array of wirescross-connecting and stabilizing said array of triangular shafts, c)wherein said second parallel array of wires is connected to each of thetriangular shafts of said first parallel array near the apex thereof,opposite the side that defines a portion of the upper plane.
 14. Ascreen for separating MOG from grape berries according to 12 wherein thespacing between the triangular shafts at the upper plane is less thanabout 0.5 inches
 15. A screen for separating MOG from grape berriesaccording to 13 wherein the spacing between the triangular shafts at theupper plane is less than about 0.35 inches
 16. A screen for separatingMOG from grape berries according to 14 wherein the spacing between thetriangular shafts at the upper plane is less than about 0.25 inches 17.A screen for separating MOG from grape berries according to 12 whereinthe spacing between wires is about 3 times the spacing between thetriangular shafts at the upper plane.
 18. A screen for separating MOGfrom grape berries according to claim 16 wherein the spacing betweenwires is about 4 times the spacing between the triangular shafts at theupper plane.
 19. A screen for separating MOG from grape berriesaccording to claim 18 wherein the spacing between wires is about 6 timesthe spacing between the triangular shafts at the upper plane.
 20. Aprocess for separating MOG from grapes berries, the process comprisingthe steps of: a) providing a oscillating conveyor having a first sectionwith a sealed bottom and a second section with a screened bottom, b)initiating the oscillating motion of the conveyer, c) depositing themixture of grape berries and MOG on the first section of the conveyorwhereby a substantial portion of the MOG is separated from the grapeberries by falling through the screen bottom as the mixture is conveyedfrom the first section of the trough past the second section of thetrough.
 21. A process for separating MOG from grapes berries accordingto claim 20 wherein said screen comprises; a) a first parallel array oftriangular shafts, each shaft oriented so that the sides define an upperplane, b) a second parallel array of wires cross-connecting andstabilizing said array of triangular shafts, c) wherein said secondparallel array of wires is connected to each of the triangular shafts ofsaid first parallel array near the apex thereof, opposite the side thatdefines a portion of the upper plane.